Cathay Pacific
Hong Kong airline apologizes for airport tantrum video
HONG KONG — Cathay Pacific has apologized for embarrassing a customer whose anguish after missing her flight was captured on video by an airline employee and posted on the Internet.
The Hong Kong airline said in a statement to The Associated Press on Thursday that the worker who filmed the video has been disciplined but that another person posted the footage on YouTube, a video-sharing Web site.
The three-minute video shot on a mobile phone shows a woman wailing, throwing herself on the floor, banging on an airport counter and trying to barge through a closed boarding gate at the Hong Kong International Airport on Feb. 4 after missing a flight to San Francisco.
"They have no compassion. The plane hasn't even left, and they've shut the gate. They're crazy! They're crazy!" the woman shouted.
First posted on YouTube on Feb. 12, it had drawn 4.97 million views and nearly 18,000 comments as of Thursday. Some postings have added mock subtitles.
It wasn't clear why the woman was so upset about missing the flight, and she could not be identified or contacted. Cathay spokeswoman Carolyn Leung declined comment.
Cathay said it had apologized to the woman "for the inconvenience and embarrassment she may have suffered as a result" and offered to upgrade her seats on her next trip and reimburse her for frequent flyer miles she used for upgrades on recent journeys.
The airline said the woman has not sought compensation from the company.
The South China Morning Post newspaper reported Thursday the woman met with Cathay's customer relations officials last week and was calm during the four-hour meeting as she explained the embarrassment the video has caused her.
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